Former Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger ripped into President Donald Trump's claim that the triumphal arch has a national security purpose.
On Friday, Kinzinger appeared on CNN to discuss Trump's claim that the arch will house snipers on its roof, giving it a national security purpose. Kinzinger, a veteran, said the idea is obviously far-fetched.
"It's clearly ludicrous, and I think everybody knows that," Kinzinger said. "It's almost like whenever this president says things, we just kind of wink because we know it's not serious."
CNN anchor Anderson Cooper asked Kinzinger if it makes sense for a sniper to want to get on top of the arch.
"It would make sense 170 years ago in the Civil War, when you were defending against an invasion by Robert E. Lee's forces," Kinzinger said. "Maybe they should have built it then."
Kinzinger continued, "Other than that, no, it doesn't make sense" for a sniper to want to be on top of the arch. "First off, a sniper is not going to sit 250 feet above the ground and see that as the best place to have a lookout."
He wondered, "What are you up against there? I mean, where's the threat?"
Trump has argued that the arch is supposed to store ammunition for snipers, and Cooper asked about that claim as well. Kinzinger dismissed it just as easily.
"For those that are unaware, he legitimately said, 'storing sniper ammunition,'" Kinzinger mocked. "I know guns. A box of ammo is maybe this big," he explained, holding up both hands to mimic an object the size of a book.
"You'd have to have a lot of ammo to need a 250-foot arch for storage," Kinzinger said. "Clearly what he's doing is trying to put a military flavor on this so that he can build an arch to himself. That's what he said. It's to him."
